Pete Travis Deserves More Praise, Says Alex Garland

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More than ten years since its 2012 premiere, the action-packed sci-fi film Dredd, featuring Karl Urban, has earned the title of a cult favorite. Originating from the comic book series 2000 AD by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, the movie was helmed by Pete Travis, with screenplay credits going to Alex Garland, known for his work on films like Ex Machina and Civil War. However, there were heated discussions and disputes when the film initially came out regarding Travis’ exact role in the production. Rumors surfaced claiming that Travis left the project near completion, with Garland stepping in to finish and essentially make his directorial debut.

In a recent interview with GQ for his upcoming film “Warfare”, Alex Garland addressed the ongoing debate about “Dredd” and defended Pete Travis’ role in the movie. According to him, fans have been overly critical and dismissive of Travis’ work on the project. The disagreement between Travis and Garland stemmed from the studio preferring film sets to operate like high-end TV productions, with a showrunner leading the project instead of a director. Garland explained this situation in detail.

During this era, television was undergoing significant transformations, with some exceptionally thought-provoking shows redefining our perception of television, movies, and drama. The Sopranos is a prime illustration of this shift. In essence, the roles of writer/showrunner in television and director in film are analogous; they both hold the power to shape the narrative. However, it’s important to note that they can’t exercise this authority concurrently as the creative control resides with different individuals within each medium.

Although it seems implausible to achieve this simultaneously, Hollywood attempted to blend the idea from television with movies. As Garland explained, “Some of my colleagues suggested, ‘Why don’t we transfer that TV concept to films?'” However, due to various intricate reasons, it ended up being a confusing and chaotic outcome.

Pete Travis Deserves More Praise, Says Alex Garland

After completing the screenplay, Alex Garland assumed creative control from Pete Travis, who was credited as director. However, Garland expressed that this credit didn’t fully acknowledge Travis’s significant contributions and stated, “He was placed in an extremely challenging position.” When Garland wrote and co-directed Dredd, he was relatively new to the industry. Even with an Oscar nomination and numerous successful films under his belt, he is still surprised by the production process of Dredd , as he put it:

“Retrospectively, the longer I’ve worked, the more ridiculous I think it was.”

Regrettably, Alex Garland’s unfavorable stint on the “Dredd” project has discouraged him from rejoining the series. Despite its underperformance at the box office, the movie garnered praise, boasting an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and has since built a dedicated fanbase. This enthusiasm for a sequel is shared by Karl Urban, who played Judge Dredd in the original film. Over the last ten years, Urban has been vocal about his desire to reprise his role in a follow-up movie. Various attempts have been made to create a sequel or even a remake, but as of now, nothing substantial has come to fruition.

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2025-04-20 17:33